Analysis of an Early Intervention Reading Program for First Grade Students

Poor early literacy performance in public elementary schools has been a concern for many years. To that end, the purpose of this study was to examine an Early Intervention Program (EIP) in a public school. First grade students at the participating elementary school struggled with reading skills and were not meeting the grade standards of the local school district. In order to remedy this problem, the school implemented early support to provide struggling students with specific and targeted small group reading instruction. This quantitative program evaluation was intended to explore the effect of the EIP used at the participating elementary school on the reading levels of a convenience sample of 32 struggling first grade readers enrolled in the EIP. The Fountas and Pinnell benchmark reading scores of these students were analyzed using a chi square test to determine the effectiveness of the program. The beginning- and end-of-year benchmark scores showed that students who participated in the program for an entire school year demonstrated growth in their reading levels so that every student in the program was reading on or above grade level. Based on this research, an evaluation report was prepared and included recommendations for possible expansion of the program and teacher professional development focused on reading intervention. This research could help promote positive social change through teacher professional development and allow classroom teachers to receive targeted reading intervention training. These results from the study help to improve student achievement and foster a school environment that is data driven and student achievement centered to support student learning

Disciplining Innovations

The editors of the 'Disciplining Innovations' issue introduce the theme

Thinking outside the laboratory box : the individualization, surveillance, and moralization of obesity within The Biggest Loser

The purpose of this study is to better understand the ways in which scientific discourse contributes to the individualization and moralization of obesity, through reality television. Popular reality television programs emphasize the importance of lifestyle to health and wellness, often focusing on participant weight loss. Within this research, I describe the ways in which the obesity epidemic is approached in popular reality television, specifically in NBC’s The Biggest Loser, and identify how the discourse of obesity is tied to issues of individualization, surveillance, and morality. Specifically, I undertake a laboratory study of The Biggest Loser to illustrate how this methodology can be extended from the traditional laboratory into a space of science that has no formal walls. With a focus on the seventh season of The Biggest Loser, I argue that the program is based on a human experiment that illustrates the interconnectedness of science and society, while perpetuating individualized and moralized obesity discourse. By conducting a laboratory study of a popular television program, I offer a new way to address obesity discours

Garden of Truth: The Prostitution and Trafficking of Native Women in Minnesota

Explores mental health needs of Native women working as prostitutes; their experience of sexual or physical violence and homelessness; use of shelters, rape crisis centers, and substance abuse treatment; and role of culture. Makes policy recommendations

Better Nutrition by Increased Knowledge of food Nutritional Components

Background: The purpose of this project was to teach nutritional concepts related to MyPlate to children and families who participate in the Boys and Girls Club of Hall County (BGCHC). MyPlate is the nutrition guide published by the US Department of Agriculture; it is a pie chart depicting a plate divided into five food groups. The educational event occurred at a fall festival sponsored by the BGCHC. The intent was to offer a fun and interactive game to allow children to learn from a hands-on experience. Methods: Participants in the game were between 4 and 12 years of age and were from low income families. A matching game was developed for associating foods with the correct category of MyPlate. Results: Sixty-three percent of the children selected healthy plates with 3 out of 5 categories correct; 37% chose the unhealthy plates. Seventy-three percent of the participants stated they had previous knowledge of MyPlate. Conclusions: The conclusion reached by the Brenau University nursing students was that the concepts of MyPlate need reenforcement throughout the community and over time

Social work education in the Arabian Gulf: Challenges and opportunities

© 2017 Taylor & Francis. Religion is an integral part of life in Islamic countries in the Arabian Gulf nations of Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and thus it informs social work education, practice, and policies. With the expansion of social work education around the world—both through Western universities opening international campuses and local universities developing social work programs—any Western faculty is part of developing social work education programs outside of their homeland. The development of social work education programs outside the Western world requires intentionality to avoid colonization (or recolonization) by, for example, adoption of inappropriate curricula and textbooks and/or promotion of culturally irrelevant or inappropriate interventions. Additional challenges, ethical considerations, and knowledge are needed to develop culturally relevant undergraduate and graduate social work education programs in the Arab Gulf region. This article focuses on the experience of Western social work educators in the Arab Gulf who are all Western-born and Western-trained social work faculty members who worked extensively in social work education in the Arabian Gulf region. They have developed programs in these nations and taught in both BSW and MSW programs in the Arab Gulf